The Bears' 12-year veteran, who was a defensive end for his entire career, is taking the transition to outside linebacker in stride and is working to become a threat from a new spot on the field, per NFL.com.

"I didn't know anything about it (playing OLB)," Allen said. "I played in a Tampa 2 defense my entire career, so there is a part of me that absolutely loves putting my hand in the dirt and that individual matchup with the left tackle in run or pass, or with the tight end. But this as a football player is fun, it really is -- the different styles of matchups you get and some of the one-on-one rushes it creates are really fun. Ultimately, it's kind of the same stuff, but later in my career it's easier on my body because I'm not technically banging every single day."

The change of position could be a blessing in disguise for Allen, who recorded a career-low 5.5 sacks last season.

"My body feels fresher because I'm not banging every single day and putting my hands on a 300-plus pounder and banging heads and that kind of stuff.

"I'm having fun with it. I know it's just OTAs, but being out there and seeing the one-on-one matchups that I've been able to create and the rush angles I've been able to create, so it's kind of broadening my perspective on football. For me, it's been a blast and I'm just excited to keep going."

Despite being in the last year of his contract and wanting to sign an extension before the season starts, Bears running back Matt Forte said Wednesday he has no plans to hold out, reports ESPNChicago.com.

Young finishes the year with the most sacks he's totaled in a season, 10, and 40 tackles in 15 games played.

Injury

Achilles - Questionable for start of season

Terrance Mitchell

News

Four injured or ailing Bears have been ruled out for the Sunday game against Detroit, including placekicker Robbie Gould (quad). The others are guard Kyle Long (hip), defensive tackle Will Sutton (illness) and safety Chris Conte (back).

The Bears have ruled linebacker Lance Briggs (ribs) and defensive back Chris Conte (shoulder) out for Week 7 at home against Miami. Linebacker Jon Bostic, who is nursing a back injury, was the only player listed as questionable on the injury report for Chicago.

Foster, 26, was said to be deciding between the Bears and the Chargers. During his four seasons with the Buccaneers, he posted 343 total tackles, six sacks, 12 passes defensed, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Two of his three interceptions were returned for touchdowns.

Royal rejoins Jay Cutler after the two played together during the receiver's rookie season in Denver in 2008, a season in which he delivered the best numbers of his seven-year career, racking up 91 catches, 980 yards and five touchdowns. He spent the last three seasons with the Chargers and caught 62 passes for 778 yards with seven touchdowns in 2014.

The Bears placed guard Matt Slauson on injured reserve Saturday and promoted tight end Blake Annen to the active roster.

Slauson tore a pectoral muscle a few weeks ago and was ruled out for the season in late October. The move opened up a roster spot for Annen, who may be active Sunday if Martellus Bennett (rib, questionable) is unable to go.

Lamarr Houston

News

New Bears coach John Fox said he'll play Lamarr Houston at outside linebacker, not defensive end, in the team's base 3-4 defense, reports the Chicago Tribune. Houston, 27, is coming back from a torn ACL he suffered against the Patriots while celebrating a sack in a Week 8 loss.

“It’s a blessing to be where I started and get to be with a different set of coaches but still with the same teammates," Hurst said. "I’m just happy to be back with the guys. They pretty much helped me throughout the season last year to keep growing with them.”

Marquess Wilson

News

Marquess Wilson is entering his third NFL season with the Bears. The numbers suggest Wilson is a borderline talent that might not make the roster, but Wilson is much more than that, per ESPN.com.

Wilson, a seventh-round pick three seasons ago, is holding his own within the wide receiver battle for the Bears during organized team activities despite Alshon Jeffery, Eddie Royal and first-round pick Kevin White being on the roster.

"It was probably a frustrating start to his career, but he caught our eye as a guy that we were impressed with on the tape, albeit limited tape and I've liked what I've seen during these first six practice opportunities," head coach John Fox said.

Wilson -- 6-foot-4 -- was limited to just 17 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown last season because a broken collarbone limited him to seven games.

Both Scott and Sharpton had been ruled out prior to Sunday's game. Mills was considered doubtful due to a rib injury, while Morgan was questionable with a shoulder issue. Mitchell was probable due to an illness, but will not go.

The Bears got a few offensive contributions in Monday's 31-15 home loss to the Saints. Among them, rookie running back Ka'Deem Carey caught all three of his targets for 39 yards and had a 4-yard carry. Tight end Dante Rosario made a 4-yard catch. Wideout Josh Morgan was targeted once without a catch.

They'll play the Lions in Week 16.

Will Sutton

News

Four injured or ailing Bears have been ruled out for the Sunday game against Detroit, including placekicker Robbie Gould (quad). The others are guard Kyle Long (hip), defensive tackle Will Sutton (illness) and safety Chris Conte (back).

Garza, who was a fourth-round pick of the Falcons in 2001, has been with the Bears since 2005. He has appeared in 206 games in his 14-year career and has started 176 times. He has only missed six starts the last nine seasons, including four in 2014 due to an ankle injury.

The Bears will be Montgomery's fifth team since being selected in the seventh round in 2006 by the Panthers. He has also played for the Jets, Redskins and Broncos, where he played in 2014 under new Bears coach John Fox. Montgomery has appeared in 106 games (71 starts).

Jay Cutler

News

It seems every year Jay Cutler is learning a new offense. For those who lost count, 2015 will make it five since the controversial quarterback joined the Bears in 2009.

The latest is courtesy of new coach John Fox and new offensive coordinator Adam Gase. But Cutler is not complaining.

"[My relationship with Gase] has been good," Cutler told ESPN. "A lot of communication because we are trying to hit the fast-forward button in this a little bit. I've been reaching out to him, and he's been reaching out to me. Just trying to go through reps on the field and talk about it as much as we can off the field so that we can play the play a few times and then move on to the next one."

Cutler, who signed a seven-year, $126.7 million contract with $54 million guaranteed early last year, is coming off an up-and-down year. He finished with his second-highest passer rating of his career at 88.6, yet was benched for the final game due to poor performance while his team was closing out with a 5-11 record.

“I really liked Alshon coming out [of college],” Fox said at the NFL owners' meetings. “One of the things I’d say is we had a lot of soft-tissue injuries last year as a football team. We’ve kind of changed philosophically in the weight room. I think you’ll see we’re going to do things a lot different from offseason conditioning, the approach to how we handle that. I don’t think we had a soft-tissue injury a year ago in Denver other than one particular guy.”

“I think [the new conditioning approach] will help him,” Fox said. “There have been times in his career when he might have been a little bit overweight, but obviously a beast as far as size, and a guy we’re looking forward to getting to know better.”

Tim Jennings

News

Bears cornerback Tim Jennings will be chasing around slot receivers more often this season as he expands his game to include more nickle coverage, per ESPN.com.

Jennings anticipates that this season, with a new defensive scheme, he will be placed in nickle coverage more then ever.

“With the defense we’ll be running now, it [nickelback] fits well to what I’m trying to do, what they’ll want me to do,” Jennings said. “I played a little bit [of nickel] last year, but I’m looking forward to playing more this year.”

Jennings recorded 50 tackles and a forced fumble in 16 games for the Bears last season.

Cameron Jefferson

No Updates

Kyle Fuller

News

Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller was back on the practice field Saturday, reports ESPNChicago.com. Fuller tweaked his ankle during Friday's practice, which caused him to be a limited participant.

Adrian Amos

News

What was reported is now official - the Bears have announced that they have signed three of their 2015 draft picks to four-year contracts.

Included is fourth-rounder Jeremy Langford, a running back who rushed for 1,522 yards and 22 touchdowns for Michigan State last season. Safety and fifth-rounder Adrian Amos, as well as 353-pound offensive tackle and sixth-rounder Tayo Fabuluje are also in the fold.

Antrel Rolle

News

The Giants made safety Landon Collins their pick in the second round of the draft, trading up to get him. That likely means that the Alabama product will get the chance to replace Antrel Rolle, who signed with Chicago as a free agent.

Collins thinks he's up to the challenge.

"Starting at Dutchtown [high school], I came in right after Eric Reid," Collins said, per NJ.com. "Then going to Alabama I came in after Mark Barron, Ha Ha Clinton Dix, and Vinnie Sunseri, plenty of big shoes to fill. Stepping into Antrel Rolle's shoes, I'm gonna definitely fill those too and keep it on going."

Tayo Fabuluje

News

What was reported is now official - the Bears have announced that they have signed three of their 2015 draft picks to four-year contracts.

Included is fourth-rounder Jeremy Langford, a running back who rushed for 1,522 yards and 22 touchdowns for Michigan State last season. Safety and fifth-rounder Adrian Amos, as well as 353-pound offensive tackle and sixth-rounder Tayo Fabuluje are also in the fold.

David Fales

News

Four injured or ailing Bears have been ruled out for the Sunday game against Detroit, including placekicker Robbie Gould (quad). The others are guard Kyle Long (hip), defensive tackle Will Sutton (illness) and safety Chris Conte (back).

The Bears have signed linebacker Sam Acho to a one-year contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Acho spent the last four seasons with the Cardinals, totaling 124 tackles with 13 sacks and three interceptions in 51 games. Acho played every game for Arizona in three of the four seasons.

Jacoby Glenn

No Updates

Kyle Woestmann

No Updates

Jeremy Langford

News

What was reported is now official - the Bears have announced that they have signed three of their 2015 draft picks to four-year contracts.

Included is fourth-rounder Jeremy Langford, a running back who rushed for 1,522 yards and 22 touchdowns for Michigan State last season. Safety and fifth-rounder Adrian Amos, as well as 353-pound offensive tackle and sixth-rounder Tayo Fabuluje are also in the fold.

Veteran cornerback Tracy Porter, who was cut by the Redskins last month, was signed by the Bears to a one-year contract Monday, per ESPN.com.

Porter appeared in just two games with Washington due to shoulder injuries. He has 10 interceptions over seven seasons but played his best football with the Saints. New Bears GM Ryan Pace worked with Porter in New Orleans.

Both players agreed to four-year deals with the team. White was selected with the seventh overall pick. He had 109 catches for 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns in his senior season for West Virginia.

"I know I spoke to you about getting impact players in the draft, especially when you're picking in the top 10, and that's exactly what Kevin White is," general manager Ryan Pace said after picking White.

"This guy's dynamic, he's big, he's strong and he's ultra-competitive. If I could stress one word for this player, he's competitive. You see it after the catch. You see it in the way he attacks the ball in the air. This is a dynamic playmaker for our offense."

Goldman recorded 35 tackles with four sacks in 2014 for the Seminoles.

Levi Norwood

No Updates

Jordan Mills

News

The Bears have listed their Week 13 injury report prior to Thursday's game.

In addition to Carter, the team also signed wide receiver Alexander Cruz to a three-year deal. Moreover, the team waived linebacker Jonathan Brown.

Martellus Bennett

News

Bears tight end Martellus Bennett has reported to mandatory minicamp, but he has not forgotten about the issues that motivated him to stay away from voluntary practices.

Bennett has been embroiled in a contract dispute with the team. And he has a message for those complaining that he is not honoring his current deal.

"Most people don't honor their damn phone contracts," he told the team's radio network. "They just switch from Sprint to T-Mobile one year into it ... If you're playing at a high level then you want to be compensated for the level that you're playing."

Bennett has indeed taking huge steps forward over the last three seasons. He peaked in 2014 with 90 catches for 916 yards and six touchdowns in earning a Pro Bowl spot.

Jimmy Clausen

News

New Bears coach John Fox called it "all an open competition" when asked if he could see a scenario in which quarterback Jay Cutler had to compete for the starting job, reports ESPN.com. Jimmy Clausen is Cutler's projected backup.

“I would say logically if you are looking at the depth chart and you are asking me for it two weeks before we can really get anything going, I’d say be [Cutler would be] first on the depth chart, yeah,” Fox said.

“Obviously you’ve got to start somewhere and my experience in football and really anything is it’s not where you start the race it’s where you finish it. We have to start the race with some kind of lineup, and we have not discussed that in depth. We have not presented it to our players in depth. I think it’s important for them to see it maybe more than you guys. I’ve had guys who were third on the depth chart that by the time we started the opener were first. I can’t tell you what’s happening. If I could I’d be at some race track somewhere.”

Pat O'Donnell

News

Bears kicker Robbie Gould missed Tuesday's practice due to quad soreness, coach Marc Trestman told reporters. Trestman said the team is working on a contingency plan in case Gould can't play Thursday against the Cowboys.

"[He has] the physicality, the heavy hands, the high motor," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "He has pass-rush ability even maybe more so than we saw from Pernell coming out. He has hips, and he can get around blocks. If he develops like Pernell did, we’re going to have something."

Smith was drafted by the Ravens in the fourth round and on Friday inked a four-year deal with team worth $2.763 million.

Alan Ball

News

The Bears have signed cornerback Alan Ball to a one-year contract on Friday, per the team's official website.

Ball, 29, spent the last two seasons with the Jaguars, but was limited to only seven games in 2014 due to a biceps injury. He racked up 59 total tackles, 17 passes deflected and three interceptions over that span. He has played eight NFL seasons with the Cowboys, Texans and Jags.

Thomas rushed for 168 yards on 44 attempts last season for the Dolphins, while Martin picked off one pass in 13 games for the Jaguars last season.

Shea McClellin

News

Shea McClellin might move twice over the next year. The Bears have already stated they will decline his fifth-year option, which means McClellin could wind up elsewhere in 2016. But before that, he will be moving on the field.

McClellin has been switched from outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense to inside in a 3-4. And defensive coordinator Vic Fangio believes it should work out.

"When he came out of college, he was a versatile guy and played a lot of different positions," Fangio told ESPN. "Maybe now it's time to lock him down to an inside linebacker spot. ... I want to see him (there) for a while."

McClellin has also played defensive end and has yet to find a permanent home. The 19th overall selection in the 2012 draft did set a career-high last with 84 tackles and 4.5 tackles for losses.

Rosario is entering his ninth year in the NFL, playing for the Panthers, Dolphins, Broncos, Chargers and Bears. His career numbers include 116 receptions for 1,235 yards and eight touchdowns. The 30-year-old has only started 11 games in the last four years.